The Multi-State Manhunt for Billy Boyette

The Multi-State Manhunt for Billy Boyette

Just two short months ago it would have seemed that Alicia Greer and William “Billy” Boyette were madly in love. Though Alicia’s parents had not yet met with their daughter’s newest love interest, they saw nothing abnormal about the relationship until they received a phone call. It was Alicia, calling to say that she had been admitted to the hospital.

Alicia Greer posing for a photo with Billy Boyette just weeks before his multi-state murder spree.

According to an interview with Greer’s mother by Fox 10, she arrived at the hospital to see her daughter had sustained “… a black eye, busted lip, cut on her head, cut on her forehead, bruises everywhere. So he [Boyette] beat her. He kicked her in the mouth and knocked her out. When she came to, he stole her car.”

Alicia pressed charges against Boyette and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff had issued warrants for his arrest for grand theft, battery, and kidnapping. Alicia’s family believed that having Boyette arrested would take care of the issue, but little did they know that their nightmare had just begun.

“Dad I’m okay lol.” was the last message either of Alicia’s parents had received from her. Alicia’s father had asked if she had gotten back together with “that guy,” but there was no response. The next time they would hear about their daughter it would be from the police calling to tell them that Alicia, as well as another woman named Jacqueline Moore, were shot and killed at a motel. The suspected perpetrator had been Alicia’s abuser, William “Billy” Boyette.

Jacqueline Moore had been found dead at a hotel, along with Alicia Greer.

The shooting deaths of Greer and Moore were what set off a multi-agency manhunt for Boyette, along with another woman who had been spotted with Boyette named Mary Rice. Police were unsure if Rice had been a hostage or a willing accomplice, but surveillance footage showing Rice purchasing bullets led police to suspect that she had been assisting Boyette in his alleged murder spree.

Peggy Broz had been returning home from work when it is believed that she had been shot and killed by Boyette in her own yard. She is believed to have been a randomly selected target. Her car was found the following day parked off of Nine Mile Road in Escambia County, Florida.

Peggy Broz was believed to have been killed by Boyette and Rice after arriving home from work.

Two days after recovering the vehicle of Peggy Broz, a report came in that a woman in Escambia County had been attacked during a home invasion. Kayla Crocker was found in critical condition after being shot. Crocker’s 2-year-old son, who had been home at the time of the attack, appeared to be unharmed. Crocker would become Boyette’s fourth alleged victim when she succumbed to her injuries later at the hospital. Missing from the scene had been Crocker’s 2006 Chevy Cobalt.

Kayla Crocker is believed to have been a victim of Boyette and Rice during a home invasion. She leaves behind a 2-year-old son who was in the home at the time of the attack.

According to eyewitness reports, Boyette and Rice stopped at a Shell gas station in town, before heading over to a Hardee’s for breakfast. Investigators would later learn that the pair had set off for Georgia.

In the early afternoon of February 7, 2017, after a solid week of hunting down the couple, police received a tip that Boyette and Rice had been staying at a motel in West Point, Georgia. When officers arrived, the couple were visibly taunting police by waving from the window. The three-and-a-half hour standoff came to an end when Boyette allowed Rice to surrender peacefully. As Rice was being taken into police custody, a single gunshot was heard from the hotel. Boyette had ended his own life.

Mary Rice is accused of being an accomplice to Boyette’s multi-state murder spree.

Rice is currently being extradited to Alabama where she his being charged with capital murder for the shooting death of Peggy Broz. Rice is also being charged in the state of Florida for being an accessory to murder.